Coronavirus information

Updated 2 June: Additional information to help you travel safely

This page contains the latest information on our services during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Please help us keep public transport free for key workers who need it. In line with government advice, you should only be travelling if you are unable to work from home, and only on public transport if you cannot travel by other means. Please do not use public transport for leisure travel. If you must travel, always practice social distancing.

As the situation is changing regularly, we strongly advise that you always check before you travel. Information on rail services throughout the country is available on the National Rail website, and the latest advice on Coronavirus is available from the NHS website, and from the government website.

Should I use public transport

As the advice relating to permitted reasons for travel change, it is important to remember that you should only use public transport if you have no other option. Work from home where possible, shop and exercise locally and only use public transport if you cannot do so by other means such, cycle or on foot. Because of social distancing, there is space for only one in ten of the normal passenger numbers. Public transport should not be used for leisure travel at present. Please help us keep public transport free for key workers who need it.

What should I do if I need to travel?

If you must travel, always practice social distancing, both while on the train and at the station

Plan your journey carefully in advance. Amended timetables are in operation. Timetables in PDF format are available below. Journey planners will only be updated a few days in advance - see the “check before you travel” banner at the top of this page for information

Avoid travelling at peak times – you may have to queue at certain times so changing your travel times may help you to socially distance. More information is available below

If you have special travel needs and require assistance, we strongly advise you to book in advance as we cannot guarantee the normal level of staffing. More information to help those requiring assistance is available further down this page

Check the current service status before you leave for the station. Live info including information on stations with queueing systems, busy trains is available on our service updates page

Buy tickets online or use contactless where possible. See below for advice on buying a ticket

Wash your hands before and after you travel. Carry hand sanitiser with you if you can

Wear face coverings and continue to check for any changes to government advice relating to this

Please follow any staff advice to ensure your safety. Be considerate of others and respect priority seating and wheelchair spaces

Sit in a part of the train where you can keep socially distanced and remain there throughout the journey. Moving to a different part of the train to exit more quickly may put you or others at risk.

What are we doing to make your journey safer?

We have employed additional staff to increase the amount of cleaning taking place overnight at all our depots

Trains are being checked and cleaned more regularly throughout the day. Measures are being taken to ensure all trains have water, soap and paper available in toilets before they start every journey. We also have measures in place to deep clean specific locations if required

We have stepped up cleaning regimes to ensure that all surfaces including handrails, ticket machine touch-screens and door handles are kept clean at all stations, with particular focus on our busiest locations

We have placed stickers on floors and posters in prominent locations to ensure social distancing in queuing systems

We are placing posters inside and stickers on exterior doors of all trains to assist our passengers in maintaining social distancing

Audio and visual announcements will be made at our stations to advise of any on-the-day crowding

Ticket refunds and exchanges

General travel advice

Our existing cycle policy will remain in place to ensure that social distancing can be maintained and to ensure that as many passengers as possible can travel in safety. Cycle racks are available at most of our stations to allow you to make use of your bike for your onward journeys.

To ensure social distancing, we have introduced queuing systems and altered access arrangements such as one-way systems and separate entrances/exits at some locations. A list of stations where changes have been made is available below, please allow more time at these locations. We will provide information on any current crowding on our service updates page however you should leave extra time at these locations at all times.

Arlesey

Balham

Battersea Park

Bedford

Biggleswade

Brighton

City Thameslink

Clapham Junction

Denmark Hill

Downham Market

East Croydon

Eastbourne

Elephant & Castle

Elstree & Borehamwood

Farringdon

Finsbury Park

Gordon Hill

Harpenden

Hatfield

Haywards Heath

Hertford North

Highbury & Islington

Hitchin

Huntingdon

Kentish Town

Kings Lynn

Letchworth

London Bridge

London King’s Cross

London St Pancras International

London Victoria

Loughborough Junction

Luton

Luton Airport Parkway

Moorgate

Old Street

Peckham

Peckham Rye

Queens Road Peckham

Royston

Sandy

St Albans City

St Neots

Stevenage

Streatham Common

Sutton

Tooting

Welwyn Garden City

West Hampstead Thameslink

We aim to keep facilities available at stations where social distancing requirements allow, however enclosed areas remain closed at the following locations:

Battersea Park

Beckenham Hill

Bellingham

Brighton

Crofton Park

Cuffley (Platform 1 only)

Dorking

Eastbourne

Enfield Chase (Platform 2 only)

Epsom (Platform 1 and 2 only)

Eridge

Gatwick Airport (First Class Lounge only)

Haywards Heath (Platform 1 only)

Hertford North (Platform 1 only)

Horsham (Platform 1 and 2 only)

Huntingdon (Platform 3 only)

Luton Airport Parkway (Platform 1 only)

Palmers Green (Platform 2 only)

Peckham Rye

Pulborough

Purley (Platform 6 only)

Shoreham-by-Sea

St Albans (Platform 2 only)

Streatham Hill

Sutton

Wallington

West Norwood

Winchmore Hill

Reservations are not available on Great Northern, Southern or Thameslink trains. However, please do check our service updates page for details of trains that are expected to be busy and where possible, travel outside peak times to ensure you can maintain social distancing requirements.

Assisted travel

Our front-line teams are there to help you make your journey safely. Please don’t hesitate to ask for assistance whenever needed. We have made some modifications to help whilst maintaining social distancing for the safety of both you and our staff.

Our Assisted Travel team are there to help you plan and we recommend booking assistance whenever possible. Of course, we are still providing assistance for passengers who haven’t been able to pre-book.

Familiarise yourself with general information on this page, including advice on stations where queuing systems and amended access points may be in place.

Our staff will work with you to maintain social distancing wherever possible. They may wipe down the handle of your wheelchair for their own safety.

While we recommend that our staff and customers wear a face covering if possible we recognise that not all customers are able to use a face covering. Our staff also know that face coverings can present communication difficulties for some people e.g. those who rely on lip reading. If necessary, they will be happy to write key information down for you. You may also find our Communication Guide or Travel Support card handy when communicating with you during your journey.

When waiting, our staff will assist you to a safe and quiet place away from other passengers and will ask other passengers to maintain social distancing whilst you are waiting.

When using lifts, staff supporting you may use the stairs and will join you at the other end rather than travel in the same lift with you.

When assisting you onto the train, we will check that the wheelchair space or priority seat is free and will ask customers to move if necessary, to maintain social distancing. We also reminded customers in our guidelines to respect wheelchair spaces and priority seating as this is important for social distancing.

Revised timetable in place until further notice

Train services are operating to an amended timetable to ensure key workers and others making essential journeys can travel, however the available capacity remains significantly reduced with social distancing measures in place.

The timetable has been designed to be as resilient as possible at a time when our staff are impacted by coronavirus, and to support the platform upgrades underway at Gatwick Airport and Stevenage railway station. Please note:

No Gatwick Express trains will operate, please use Southern and Thameslink services between London and Gatwick Airport which operate up to 16 times per hour

A change of train may be necessary on what are normally direct journeys on weekdays

Services will once again operate to and from Moorgate seven days a week.

Timetables will be uploaded to journey planners at least three days before they operate. Information on when journey planners are currently uploaded to is available in the "check before you travel" banner at the top of the web page. You should also re-check your journey before leaving for the station for any on-the-day disruption.

To help you plan, timetables are available at the links below. Please note that these are intended as a guide and do not reflect any changes due to engineering work or on-the-day disruption. Please re-check your journey on the journey planner before you leave for the station.

Buying tickets

Use a Key Smartcard to minimise social contact, helping keep us all safe during this time. If you already have a Key Smartcard, advice on how to use it effectively can be found here. If you order a card it will be sent to your home, where you can buy and renew your season ticket online. When you are ready to travel, simply tap the Key Smartcard at your chosen station to collect your ticket. If you are not travelling as frequently as before, keyGo is our pay as you go option. Find out more here.

Book your ticket online to allow you to make use of our money back guarantee on most ticket types and ensure that any changes or refunds you need can be made online. Visit our money-back guarantee pages on Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern or Thameslink.

Use contactless/Oyster on routes it is accepted. Check our route map for full details

If you need to visit our ticket offices, please practice social distancing.

Ticket machines will remain available at all locations, but a queuing system may be in place with some machines taken out of service to maintain social distancing.

A list of stations with changes to the opening times is available below.

Opening times at stations not listed are expected to be open as usual, however, please continue to check for short notice changes on our station information pages.